Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President, Dangote Group has cried out about the suffering of Nigerians: “It is a curious paradox that Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, and the largest economy on the continent, also has one of the highest levels of poverty. It is estimated that more than 100 million out of a population of 187 million Nigerians live below the poverty line.”

“The spate of kidnappings, intermittent vandalism of petroleum pipelines in the Niger Delta, and the protracted insurgency in the North-East are all fuelled, to a large extent, by the high level of endemic poverty in the country.”

“Coupled with this, the activities of insurgents in the North-East have also affected the level of poverty in that part of the country. It is estimated that there are over 2.4 million Internally Displaced Persons in the region. It will take billions of naira to rebuild the North-East and fully re-settle the victims of the insurgency.”